Vote of thanks
I would like to thank the many people who voted Labor in the recent federal election in Gilmore.
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We went close, with a five per cent swing to Labor in the primary vote. Gilmore now has a razor-thin margin of 0.8 per cent, is the most marginal electorate in NSW and seventh most marginal in Australia. Irrespective of political party, that new slim margin can only be good news for people in Gilmore.
Thank you to our many volunteers and supporters that stood up for Medicare, for our hospitals, for the full Gonski, needs-based funding for our local schools, for significantly more Fibre-to-the-Premises NBN in Gilmore, jobs, and much more. It is because of your support that we are in a solid position moving forward and for our next important task of holding the Member for Gilmore and her Liberal government to account.
Gilmore was named after the great progressive Dame Mary Gilmore. With your help, in the not so distant future, Gilmore will be progressive again too.
Fiona Phillips
Callala Beach
Save our cinema
I think it will a tragedy for our town if we lose our local Cinema. I hope that with a bit of good will, those quick to condemn can see the other side of the story, call off the "dogs" and have a reconciliation with the cinema owners.
Laurie Oliver
Malua Bay
And now for the weather
Last week Moruya scored a brief mention in the weather report on ABC TV evening News.
The weatherman told us Moruya Heads weather station had recorded a temperature that was the highest for 90 years. I am sure many viewers on the South Coast could have drawn the conclusion that things are getting bad and the temperature at Moruya Heads is getting hotter and hotter all the time.
But exactly what is the conclusion that one can draw from this statistic? Surely it’s not that temperatures are relentlessly climbing. What the statistic tells us is that there was a hotter record 90 years ago. It has taken 90 years for the temperature to get back to somewhere near where it was in 1926.
For the record, the maximum temperature at Moruya Heads on 22nd July, 2016, was 24.9 degC. July temperatures above 24 degC are rare at Moruya Heads but back in 1926, the maximum recorded at Moruya Heads on 22nd July was 25.6 degC (back-transformed from Fahrenheit, which leads to a slight precision error).
Statistical Analyst, Dr. Bill Johnston, has analysed the Moruya Heads figures in detail. He reports, “At the Moruya Heads Pilot Station, the absolute highest temperature per year (from 1910) shows no trend. There are statistical anomalies called steps – both up and down – but these do not represent trends. No trends either month-by-month. I don’t think it is evidence that we are heading to the cooker.”
I invite people to listen carefully when presented with information such as the weatherman gave us last week. Critical listening skills are important.
David Mason-Jones
Denhams Beach
What about homelessness?
Several people have involved themselves in groups to present themselves as potential councillors for the September local government elections. One candidate recently claimed the group would fund itself, wouldn’t accept donations etc. That group has made public it has a Commonwealth Bank Account where donations can be banked. Can that group be trusted to be independent of outside influences if it accepts donations?
All candidates must explain what they intend to do about youth unemployment and the homeless.